A man died after plunging from the 29th floor of 560 West 43rd St.Kristy Leibowitz

Location, location, location. It’s the first rule of real estate – and pitching.

In Game 1 of the World Series, the Yanks’ Mike Mussina had about as much prime location as a one bedroom/half-bath on Rikers Island. Mussina lasted just three innings in his World Series debut last Saturday, giving up five runs after continuously getting ahead of the Diamondbacks.

“I think it was his command,” Yankee manager Joe Torre said. “He threw all his stuff, but wasn’t able to put it where he wanted to.”

Mussina had to walk the tight rope in the opener of the Fall Classic because a dominating Curt Schilling stifled the Yankees. While Mussina faltered, Schilling impressed, keeping the Bombers off-balance with his splitter and slider as well as a 97-mph fastball.

Arizona jumped on Mussina almost immediately the last time around. Weak-hitting Craig Counsell hit a solo homer off Mussina with one out in the first, tying the score at 1-1 and giving Schilling confidence he’d have runs. For Mussina, it was that kind of outing.

“I couldn’t throw it where I wanted to throw it,” Mussina said yesterday. “It’s that simple.”

After last night’s dramatic Yankee win, the 32-year-old right-hander takes the hill in Game 5 tonight opposite Miguel Batista, who doesn’t exactly evoke comparisons to Schilling.

“I’ll probably just forget about it,” Mussina said. “There’s not much I want to remember, so I’ll just forget about it. We’ll start new and try to go after them again.”

In the third inning of his last start, Mussina fell apart. He allowed the Diamondbacks to take a 3-1 lead on a Luis Gonzalez two-run jack and two more runs came home after a David Justice error in right field.